New renovation authority with HK$300 million fund will not only serve but also supervise
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Hong Kong authorities will provide more details about reforms to tackle bid-rigging and enhance oversight of building maintenance projects, in response to the city’s deadliest fire in decades.
The government will hold two press conferences on Friday to provide details about the reforms, after an independent committee that investigated the Tai Po fire pointed to inadequacies in the government’s oversight of the estate’s renovation project as a factor leading to the inferno.
The morning session will be led by Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun, who is now also acting housing minister, and development chief Bernadette Linn Hon-ho. They will elaborate on measures to enhance building maintenance and renovation regulations.
WATCH LIVE: HK Government on Wang Fuk Court fire reforms
In the afternoon, security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah and representatives from police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Competition Commission will explain proposed reforms to crack down on bid-rigging in building maintenance projects.
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10:28AM
AI system to screen contractors by mid-2027
The government aims to launch the first phase of a centralised cross-departmental data system by May or June next year. The AI-powered system will flag contractors with poor records. Chan stresses that AI will not replace civil servants or take over their responsibilities.
Chan says repeated violations by a contractor across departments will trigger alerts to authorities such as the Buildings Department, which can suspend the contractor’s licence or tender eligibility. He calls the mechanism “one of the most important” among the reforms.
He adds that complaints lodged through the government’s 1823 platform will now be handled by a single designated lead department. It must coordinate with other relevant departments and respond to any complainant by issuing a consolidated reply.
10:16AM
Steering committee to meet next month
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki says on Friday morning that the independent committee’s 120 recommendations were “comprehensive”, and that all relevant departments must submit implementation reports and timetables to him.
The earliest meeting of the steering committee, led by Chan, is set to take place in November. All recommendations are expected to be implemented within a few months.
Chan adds that enforcing the recommendations will require full guidance and monitoring of complaints, noting that some are already being implemented, including amendments to six ordinances tabled to the Legislative Council this year.
10:15AM
Moves to crack down on bid-rigging
The authorities will criminalise bid-rigging in building maintenance projects and allow authorities to take criminal or civil action against such conduct.
The change will introduce a criminal offence under the Competition Ordinance with penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines.
Another initiative will be to include the new criminal offences on anticompetitive conduct related to major building renovation works under the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance and the Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance.
The proposed changes will strengthen law enforcement agencies’ investigative powers and enable authorities to freeze assets. They will also empower the court to mete out heavier sentences.
10:13AM
Slew of reforms
As the independent committee’s final report was released on Thursday, Lee announced a series of reforms to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The measures included criminalising bid-rigging, establishing an interdepartmental task force to tackle relevant offences, and setting up a new independent body to assist homeowners with handling and assessing tenders for large-scale building maintenance projects.
Other reforms were revamping the building maintenance regulatory system, restructuring of building control authorities, setting up a centralised data system for building maintenance, and establishing a steering committee chaired by the chief secretary to oversee the implementation of the reforms.
10:08AM
‘Hallmarks of bid-rigging’ in Wang Fuk Court
Wang Fuk Court was undergoing large-scale renovations when the blaze ignited last November. The committee found that the use of substandard building materials had contributed to the rapid spread of fire.
While stressing that it was not within its scope to determine whether there had been bid-rigging in the project, the committee nonetheless said there were “numerous features of that project which bore the hallmarks of bid-rigging and anticompetitive conduct”.
It cited examples of an aggressively low consultancy bid, an extensive scope of works, a contractor winning the inflated downstream contract, a “dummy” inspector at the estate, a “grossly misleading” tender analysis report and concentrated proxy votes over critical appointments at the project.
10:07AM
Resignation of housing minister
City leader John Lee said politically appointed officials had to take responsibility and Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin tendered her resignation as a statement of accountability.
Lee said that although Ho was not guilty of personal wrongdoing, her departure was appropriate after considering different factors, including the fact that Wang Fuk Court was a subsidised estate under the remit of Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit.
The judge-led independent committee that investigated the fire pointed to the unit as the government arm that bore the greatest responsibility after failing in its supervisory duties.
Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun is now acting housing minister and will oversee the bureau’s internal reforms.
10:05AM
Regulatory ‘vacuum’
At the time of the fire, Wang Fuk Court was undergoing a large-scale facade overhaul as required by the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme.
A judge-led independent committee ordered by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to probe the causes of the blaze found that the use of substandard construction materials, such as combustible foam boards and non-fire-retardant scaffolding mesh, had caused the quick spread of fire and therefore the significant toll.
While pointing to the project consultant and contractor as the culprits for the disaster, the committee also named four government departments – the Independent Checking Unit under the Housing Bureau, the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department and the Labour Department – for failing to properly discharge their supervisory duties.
“The committee finds that no government department took effective ownership of various fire safety issues, and complaints about fire hazards fell into a vacuum,” it said.
10:00AM
Deadliest fire in decades
The inferno that broke out at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Tai Po on November 26, 2025, lasted for more than 43 hours and raged through seven out of its eight blocks.
It killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents, making it the deadliest fire in Hong Kong since 1948.
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